Interviewing Wally Funk: Aviation Pioneer | National Air and Space Museum

Interviewing Wally Funk: Aviation Pioneer | National Air and Space Museum

Funk became the oldest woman to go to space on July 20, 2021, at age 82, flying on Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft during its suborbital flight. Flying airplanes was something that Wally Funk always wanted to do. She had her first flying lesson when she was nine years old and by twenty had become a professional aviator. In 1961, she volunteered for the “Women in Space” program with the hope of becoming an astronaut. Wally was one of thirteen women who, despite having passed all of the rigorous testing proving they were physically and psychologically qualified for space travel, were denied the chance to become astronauts when the program was canceled. In 1974, Funk was hired by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as its first female Air Safety Investigator. Funk continued to dream of going into space and in July 2021 achieved her dream.

Read more about Wally Funk here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Funk

Credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: April 17, 2023

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